2006 Municipal Budget Introduced

The Township Committee introduced its annual budget which calls for a nominal tax increase at its meeting on Wednesday, March 8th. “For the second year in a row the budget calls for a municipal tax increase of less than one cent per hundred $100 of assessed value,” Mayor Joseph Watters said.
For the owner of the average township home assessed at $236,000, the portion of the 2006 tax bill which supports municipal services will increase about $21 over the 2005 amount.
The budget currently anticipates receipt of the same amount of state aid as the previous year, though the governor may decide to change that when he presents his budget at the end of March, according to Watters.
The tax increase was due largely to changes in fixed costs such as health insurance and state mandated contributions to state pension systems. The latter of which alone increased more than $56,000. These increases were partially offset by reductions in other areas and increases in revenue.
Interest on investments and deposits increased $69,000 and there is a net increase of almost $39,000 due to a new shared court agreement.
The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for April 12. For more information visit the Finance Office's web page